Locations
Blackbrook, St Helens, Merseyside, WA9
Description
A MAN who committed "heinous" sexual abuse on a girl and then put his victim through the ordeal of a trial has been jailed.
Connor Paul Gavin, 21, of Blackbrook, St Helens was found guilty by a trial by jury at Liverpool Crown Court last month.
Today (Friday, November 17) he was sentenced to 14 years and nine months in prison for nine counts of rape and sexual assault of a child under 13.
The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Constable Lesley Prendergast said: “Throughout the whole process, the investigation and the trial, Gavin continued to deny all the allegations made against him. Thankfully the jury saw through his lies and found him guilty.
“His denial and not accepting what he has done has been incredibly difficult for the victim. She has showed immense courage and bravery to report the utterly depraved actions he committed.
“As you can imagine for victims of such an appalling crime, the impact on them is significant and long-lasting. I hope this sentence provides some comfort in knowing they did the right thing to report Gavin’s heinous crime to us.”
Detective Inspector Yoseph Al-Ramadhan added: “Merseyside Police is completely committed to protecting children from sexual abuse and those who seek to do them harm, and we take all such reports extremely seriously.
“If you have experienced any form of sexual abuse, or know of a child being abused, please come forward and report this to police.
“We have a dedicated team of specially trained officers who will treat you with sensitivity and compassion and will do everything we can to bring offenders to justice.”